Anne Bonnys Locker

The new machines are Chinese and while great heavy upholstery machines are not something I would recommend for sewing 10mm thick material.

There is no warranty on an imported machine. The importer owns the warranty and you will be the importer. You will also have to manufacture your own linkages for the motor and presser foot lift. The table supplied at that price is very basic. You will still need a roller guide and additional feet. It takes a day to check everything out and set it up properly so if a mechanic is going to visit your home - and he needs to know how to set up an imported 441 - then you will be paying hundreds.

Older cast iron straight stitchers with a vertical bobbin can usually handle #92 and even #138 on top but will suffer heavy wear. While not ideal for leatherwork I believe that they are a great tool for learning the basics of sewing

There are a couple of issues here; 1/ if you are going to run a machine 40 hours per week then spend the big dollars and buy something from Japan. The majority of my customers are only using machines for hobbies but I do get the occasional commercial user asking for a quote and I turn them away because they want a machine that will run week in, week out for 20 years. 2/ Chinese machines are only as good as the dealer who sets it up before delivery If you buy a Chinese built machine and it is delivered in an unopened box then do not accept the delivery.

CLAES still build new machines but they are now high tech servo powered jobs. In the current paint job the machine looks pretty ordinary so it is up to you. Maybe a black paint job with gold pinstriping?

It consists of an on/off foot pedal and an adapter that replaces the nut on the handwheel. Take a 900w variable speed drill, set the speed on low, lock the trigger and plug it in through the prewired foot pedal.

Maybe you need the electric drill adaptor

Motor quality is probably ok but what speed does it run at?

Gregg, The only Ho Hsing motors that come here are the most basic and there is no local support as far as I can tell. Yes the most basic models are ok for simple machines but seeing how easily one of my customers could programme a Shokei motor to do what he wanted made me appreciate better motors. The instruction manual is a joy to use not a source of frustration.

If you look at an old Singer needle book you will see that most early machines had a special needle numbered after them. Send a PM to Singermania - Steve as he has a Singer 8 class machine and can measure up the needle.

No, I mean the original Singer 8 class machine which is bigger than a 7. The modern Chinese equivalent to the 7 class is the GB6 class where the 180 and 181 use the 7 class (794) needle and the GB6-182 uses the 1000 system which I believe is the original Singer 8 class needle. Just to confuse matters they also build the 7-33. The 7B was the Japanese built version of the original 7 class such as the 7-5. Singer used the same numbers for different machines with the "-" or letter being the modifier. For example the 99k is a 3/4 sized domestic straight sewer while the 99w is an industrial button holer weighing about 65kg. The 7 and 8 with the p and ss letters were not designed by Singer but were inherited with a company they purchased.

The 133 class is just the cylinder bed version of the 132. Unfortunately I cannot check the feed dog screws as I only have a 133k13 plonker here now but Bob Kovar at Toledo will have the right screws.

If the stitch length adjustment is gone then it could be that the screw in the mechanism has broken. Open the top plate and look at the mechanism on the left. There are three discs with the central one being the eccentric. There are two bolts between the three plates and check that the one in the right adjustment slot isn't broken off. If the bolt is broken then call Bob at Toledo and he will sell you a replacement.

Best guess is they are the leather version of the SMX1000. From what I can gather the 1000 class is equivalent to the Singer 8 needle

Back to basics! DPX5 and DPX35 are two different needles. Get the right needle for the machine before doing anything else.

Go back 150 years and hand crank was all you had and it takes patience and practice. Hand crank is a great starting point when learning to sew before moving on to other methods. Many Saddlers still love their treadle/handcrank Pearson 6's. A treadle machine is more controllable than a servo version as you can run extremely slowly or quickly with ease.

The problem with basic Hosing motor is that programming is difficult. OTOH the motors that are easy to programme for every eventuality cost nearly five times more at the factory door than the retail price.

Amann Serafil is HT Polyester. I was the one who mentioned "boat anchor" status. The two potential issues with such an old machine are presser foot feed adjustment - which determines stitch length - and wear in the shuttle drive gears.

Methinks Elly should do the sales side of the business. One of her lovely smiles and anyone would buy a machine whether they wanted it or not LOL I might have many more vintage machines than Steve but I just don't have the tonnage.

M30 through M10 I think. Which part of the world are you in?

To avoid the wear problems caused by bonded threads High Tenacity Polyester is an excellent alternative.

College Sewing have new parts for later models that will not work i a 29-4 For part numbers go here: http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPpartCharts/29-4.pdf

Unless it is a 132k/253 style machine there is little chance of it handling anything heavier than 138 thread. A standard bobbin case simply is not designed to take anything heavier and there are issues with the take up spring and tension on the top end. For M15 thread look for a supplier of Amann Serafil I suspect the dealer is overstating the capacity of his machine. Generally to take anything heavier than M20 you need an open frame shuttle

Unfortunately I did not have the camera with me and if I had pics of the lovely Elly I would not be sharing them with you lot

Due to the age and wear in a 29-4 I would not use anything heavier than #69